Combination egg-testing machine.



I. F. PFEIFLE.

COMBINATION EGG TESTING MACHINE.

7 APPLICATION FILED FEB. 5.19I6. 1,198,477.

Patented Sept. 19, 1916.

E E E1 III UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN F. PFEIFLE, OF YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO.

COMBINATION EGG-TESTING MACHINE.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, JOHN F. PFEIFLE, a citizen of the United States, residing at 1709 Garlick street, Youngstown, in the county of Mahoning and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Combination Eg -Testing Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in egg testing machines and has for its principal object the production of a simple and eiiicient means for testing twelve eggs at one time thereby to sort out the bad ones from the good ones, a further object of the invention being the provision of a cabinet contain ing a funnel-shaped reflector carrying an electric bulb, a track upon which a belt is caused to move, said belt being divided into sections, half of the sections provided with sets of twelve egg cups, the other half of the belt provided with rectangular openings, these openings alternating with the cup sections of the belt. Upon the belt covering such opening, a commercial tray containing twelve eggs may be placed, the belt caused to move bringing the tray within the cabinet directly above the refiector and beneath an eye-piece, provided with lenses and shutters slidably arranged to close openings for emitting the tray and exit for the tray.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a machine comprising a combination of testing devices, one arranged to test eggs in commercial carriers or trays holding twelve eggs, another to test eggs without the tray by placing twelve eggs in cups attached to the belt, and still another by providing a device for testing eggs, one or two at a time by holding them in the operators hand or hands and rotating them in front of two openings of an electric lighted chamber attached to the front of the testing cabinet.

Another object is to provide an egg testing cabinet to be used in the daylight providing an opportunity for the egg retailer to allow his customer to test the eggs. In order to provide for customers of difierent height and vision, a slidable eye-piece is attached carrying lenses so that proper adjustment may be made as to height and vision.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in details of construction hereinafter described Specification of Letters Patent. Patented S t 19 1916 Application filed February 5, 1916.

Serial No. 76,259.

and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings :F igure 1 is a front elevation of the complete egg testing machine. Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3. is a sectional view taken on line 3, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a detail sectional View showing the button and controlling spring used in the operating shutters at each end of the cabinet. Fig. 5 is a detail section of the belt showing the cup section and rectangular opening section.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates the body of the cabinet. At each end of the cabinet are rectangular openings 2. Through these rectangular openings and fastened by any suitable means to the ends of the cabinet at the lower edge of said rectangular openings are L-shaped guide-rails 3. Resting upon these guide-rails 3 is a platform 1. The portion of the platform within the cabinet is provided with three rectangular openings 5 located directly under the egg cups as shown in Fig. 3, or under the rows of eggs as carried by egg tray 6 as shown in Fig. 2. An endless belt 7 divided into sections provided with twelve egg cups 8 securely fastened to belt 7 and an equal number of sections with a large rectangular opening for each section as clearly shown in Fig. 5, engages platform 3 and rollers 9, 10 and 11. See Fig. 1. The rollers 9 and 10 are supported by upwardly curved projections 12 of guide-rails 3 spaced apart as shown in Fig. l. Positioned directly underneath the portion of the platform within the cabinet 1 is a funnel-shapedrefiector 13 securely fastened to the partition 1 1. It will readily be seen that by means of this reflector and partition the cabinet is divided into two parts, the upper portion being the only portion receiving light, caused by the electric bulb 15 positioned within reflector 13 or light emitted through the eye-piece and lenses 16. The eye-piece and lenses 16 are attached to the upper portion of cabinet 1 in such a manner as to allow the eye-piece to be lowered or raised. The depending apron 27 upon which the eyepiece and lenses 16 are mounted keeps the aperture constantly closed excepting directly under the lenses.

In operating this machine, twelve eggs or less in number may be placed in the cups 8, then by turning the wheel 17 the belt is caused to move and thus brings the eggs within the cabinet 1. By pressing down upon the spring controlled button 18 the shutters 19 are forced downwardly closing the openings 2. See Fig. 1. Upon the stem 22 of the operating button 18 is a lug 20 which engages with catch 21 when pressed below the catch 21.. See Fig. 4:.

. The spring 23 holds the shutters 19 open when the lug 20 is released by turning the button so as to slide the lug 20 from beneath the catch 21. See Fig. 4. The light from the bulb is now reflected upward through the eggs thus producing the desired transparency in assorting the eggs. bhould the operator wish to test eggs in a commercial tray, a tray of twelve eggs may be placed on one of the blank sections of the belt and caused to be carried thereby into the cabinet, when the eggs may be tested by sending the light up through the eggs by means of reflector 13 and electric bulb 15. Should there be any doubt as to the quality of any egg or eggs in the cups or tray when testing, the operator may take them out of the cups or tray and by rolling them before the round openings 24 the light within the chamber 26, the operator can determine as to the quality of the eggs. See Fig. 1 and Fig. 8.

With these forms of apparatus eggs may be tested in daylight as the cabinet is so constructed as to provide a confining means for the rays of light so that the exterior light rays will have no detrimental effects in the testing of the eggs.

What I claim is 1. In an egg testing machine, a cabinet, a movable eye-piece and apron slidably attached to the upper portion of said cabinet, L-shaped guide rails attached to the lower corners of the rectangular openings located at each end of said cabinet, a platform resting upon said guide rails, an endless belt traveling over the platform located upon.

said guide rails, said belt being divided into sections, half of the sections being provided with sets of twelve egg cups, the other sections of the belt being provided with rectangular openings, a partition dividing the cabinet, said partition supporting a funnel-shaped reflector. carrying an electric bulb, shutters for the rectangular end openings of the cabinet, and control-' ling means for closing said shutters.

2. In an egg testing machine, the combination of a camnet, rectangular openings at each end of the cabinet, L-shaped guide rails fastened to lower edge of said openings, a platform having three rectangular openings, an endless belt divided into sections, one half of the sections being provided with sets of egg cups, the other sections being provided with rectangular openings, a partition dividing the cabinet longitudinally, a funnel-shaped reflector carrying I an electric bulb, said reflector and bulb being located directly underneath the platform and resting upon the L- shaped guide rails within the cabinet, shutters for closing the openings at each end of the cabinet, means for controlling the shutters, and an electrically lighted chamber having two round openings at its front.

3. In an egg testing machine the combination of a cabinet provided with a funnel-shaped reflector carrying a light, a partition supporting said funnel, a platform having three rectangular openings, said platfornr resting upon L-shaped guide rails, an eye-piece with lenses, said eyepiece being slidablv attached to the upper portion of the cabinet, an electrically lighted chamber attached at the front of the cabinet, said chamber having two round openings at its front and being centrally located, an endless belt divided into sections, one set of the sections carrying egg cups, and each of the other sets being provided with a rectangular opening, said belt being movable upon rollers attached at each end of L-shaped guide rails and at the bottom of the cabinet, a wheel for the purpose of moving said belt, this wheel being attached to the end of the roller at the right end of the guide rails and passing through the cabinet, shutters-provided with an operating button and a lug on the stem of the. button, a catch to receive said JOHN F. PFEIFLE.

WVitnesses:

MARK T. DILLEY, PETER C. Tnnoc.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of latentl. Washington, D. G. 

